The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1887-01-06
TERRIBLE STORY.
Particulars of the Burning of the Steamer
Bradish JohnsOn-Many Lives Lost-A
Fatal Snow Storm In Germany.

Bradish JohnsOn-Many Lives Lost-A
Fatal Snow Storm In Germany.
MOBILE, Ala, Dec. S1.-News was re-
ceived here Wednesday night of the burn
ing of the steamer Bradish johnson. on the
Bigbee river, eleven miles above Mobile,
but as there is no telegraph line to that
point no particulars could be obtained until
now.
a. c. Yeall. one of the bosses, gave the
following description of the fire: Il had
just gone to bed when i heard the c~y of
fire. | got into my pants and seized my
other effects and rushed out of the cabin.
There had been party Of men out there
playing cards and they had seen the smoke
rising. When l came into the cabin
the fire seemed to be in the state
room aft of the pantry on the port side,
and the men who had been playing cards
were standing there at the door looking in
at the fire. They seemed as If they were
dazed and did not know what to do. They
had shouted fire but there they stood
staring at it. / cried, For Gods sake,
what are YOU standing there for. Wake
the men up and let US get out Of here.
''There was an old man. an Alabamian, in
the room next to mine. l don't know his
name. He was asleep when went to the
L
got him awake or not | don't know ham
mered and pounded away with all my
might. You see, the smoke was already
filling the cabin and the men were running
around like mad, / hardly know what hap
pened. / ran forward through the cabin,
and my eyes and mouth got so full of smoke
that | did not know where | was going.
The negroes We're mostly on the lower deck.
They all came running forward about the
same time we did. The vessel burned very
fast and was a solid mass of flames in
moment. When l had reached the
bank | turned around and saw the pilot
house and texas fall i'll with the negroes.
They fled up the bank in mob and rushed
to the woods. where they hUddled like
sheep and could not be persuaded to come
down to the boat. They knew that some
of their number were lost in the burning.
boat and they were seemingly superstitiOus
about it. They did not want to go near the
place. So the boat became mass of flames
and burned for about half an hour, when
she sank. As soon as l got ashore there
was d report that there were men in
the water. Skiffs were manned and
sent to their rescue. They picked up Mr..
DAILY, one of the Carson men. William
Neal, an Englishman in one of the sklffs,
had two negroes right near, but they sank
out of sight William Bowling, the cook.
who received slight burns on the
face and hands, found white man
lying in a staterOom doorway. Dan
HillhOuse came up, and the two
dragged the man, supposed to be McElroy,
out on the boiler deck. The man was un-
conscious from the effects of the smoke.
Just then the flames burst out up the side,
and down they jumped over the railing TO
save their lives. Hillhouse, however, said
he heard man grOaning just outside the
cabin and he went back to rescue this man.
He never came out again and he was not
seen alive after that, and it is believed that
he was sacrificed in the noble attempt to
save another mans life. There is no telling
just how many lost their lives in the fire.
Some say that ten others are missing. But
all that l know are the two negroes, Lewis
Adams and Benjamin Bush, who were
drowned and two white men, missing. L
think two other white men were burned
with the boat, and there must have been
others. for don't think they had chance
to be awakened and then escape, for it was
all | could do with the smartest kind
of running to get out alive. Had the
fire broken out one hour later, when
all the men would have been in bed, none OF
us would have escaped. As to the origin OF
the fire | know nothing. The cook says the
boys told him before he went to sleep that
the fires in the galley We're all out and every
thing safe
The Br&dish johnson was built in the
West for the Louisiana lower coast trade,
that is, from New Orleans down to the
passes of the Mississippi Captain j. Stone
brought her here and ran her on the Ala
bama and its tributaries for several years
until she was sold at marShars sale.
TWO HUNDRED LIVES LOST.
HERLIH. Dee. 3l.-The removal OF the snow
which fell in the late storm has revealed an
appalling loss Of life. Many travellers were
overtaken by the storm. Fifty bodies have
been found in Saxony, thirty i'll ThuringIa
and forty in Southern Germany. 1t is esti-
mated that the total loss of life will be POO